Police ID mom, 3 sons killed crossing road in Philadelphia

(Updated at 4:40 p.m.) PHILADELPHIA — Relatives say a Philadelphia woman and three young sons killed as they crossed a busy roadway at night were walking home from an aunt’s home.

Police have been questioning a 22-year-old driver suspected of drag racing on Roosevelt Boulevard, a 12-lane artery plagued by pedestrian deaths.

Family members plan to bury 28-year-old Samara Banks with her 7-month-old son, and bury her 23-month-old and 4-year-old together in a second plot.

Police say her surviving 5-year-old son suffered only bumps and bruises.

Relative LaTanya Byrd says Banks often took cabs to visit family across the boulevard, but decided it had cooled off enough Tuesday night to walk home.

They were struck at about 10:30 p.m. on a stretch with grassy medians dividing the roadway, but no crosswalks for nearly two blocks.

EARLIER VERSION OF THIS STORY

(Updated at 11:41 a.m.) PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police have identified the mother killed along with three young sons while crossing a Philadelphia highway that’s notorious for pedestrian deaths.

Police say 28-year-old Samara Selena Banks and her boys were killed by a speeding driver who may have been drag racing Tuesday night.

Banks and her 23-month-old son died at the scene, while her 4-year-old and 7-month-old sons died later at hospitals.

Authorities say her 5-year-old surviving child is in stable condition with bumps and bruises.

Police say the 22-year-old driver of the 2012 Audi was taken in for questioning. No arrests have been made, but police say charges are pending.

Roosevelt Boulevard divides several neighborhoods in north and northeast Philadelphia. The pedestrian deaths have prompted city officials to call for more crosswalks and speed patrols.

EARLIER VERSION OF THIS STORY

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia police were investigating Wednesday whether cars were drag racing when a mother and three young sons were struck and killed while attempting to cross a busy highway. A fourth son was injured.

The accident happened at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday on Roosevelt Boulevard, a major artery that runs through north and northeast Philadelphia. Investigators say the 27-year-old woman was pushing a stroller and crossing the road with her four sons when they were hit by a car.

The woman and her 1-year-old were pronounced dead at the scene. The other three children were taken to a hospital, where the 9-month-old was pronounced dead. Two sons, ages 4 and 5, were taken to the hospital; the younger boy was pronounced dead at 4:45 a.m. Wednesday, while the 5-year-old was stable, police said.

Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said there is a crosswalk near the area where the family was trying to cross, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether they were using it. Investigators said they were looking for surveillance video at the accident scene as they tried to piece together what had happened.

Authorities were talking to witnesses who reported seeing vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed and were investigating whether cars were drag racing.

“We’re talking to several persons who witnessed this accident — some who were on foot, some who were in other vehicles when the accident occurred,” Small said. “We’re getting some information that there may have been drag racing.”

The 22-year-old driver was taken in for questioning, but no arrests were immediately announced. The accident closed the southbound lanes of the highway for hours before they were reopened at about 6 a.m. Wednesday.